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 Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 1:41 pm
This Quest is for Sebastien who is striving to become a Beast Charmer.
OOC
||. The quest prompt must be answered with a 2000 word reply (can be more).
||. Respond to the prompt given with an adventure of your own creation as long as it meets the requirements of the specific tasks.
||. NPCs may be used as long as they advance the quest in an interesting manner.
||. You cannot include any playable characters other than the quest taker.
||. Your responses will be graded on a letter grade scale. A grade of D or F will result in repeating the quest process, C or better will result in passing and possible rewards.
||. Questions about quests can be asked here.
IC
It was the middle of the night when the commotion started. It was like the animals felt something in the air. Others rushed out to see what it was that was the problem, and as if on cue a portal opened in the floors and three large menzuri spiders appeared out of the ground.
Just as surprised, the spiders seemed to be frozen, looking down at the earthlings around them, not understanding what was happening, before picking up in an angry panic and causing havoc in the compound. They were destroying the buildings and could easily kill any of the animals there with their venom if they came to the thought.
Quest Tasks
||. The bug mages have struck for the first time in Oba and have opened a portal to send Menzuri.
||. Sebastien must somehow deal with the large and dangerous menzuri spiders before they can cause any real damage.
||. Sebastien will not be able to kill the menzuri, but should try to somehow disable them, like by trying them down, or knocking them out with something (a potion, force, etc).
||. The quest should end with a group of men volunteering to haul the incapacitated menzuri away.
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Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2015 3:43 pm
It had been a rough week for Sebastian. He had gone with Naevius to the palace and witnessed quite a shock to the system. Presumably those stationed in Oba had already known for some time, but he hadn't and Naevius hadn't. Word traveled slowly to necessary parties, apparently.
So the travelers had arrived and Sebastien had escorted his charge to her father, and was excused. With a nod and a formal bow he had left, and that was that. By nightfall he was on is way back to the compound, back to work. In the trek from the battlefield back to Oba it had felt like everything would always be that way, that there would be companionship and friendly banter forever, that Naevius would pay him visits just for the sake of sitting and talking. Now it was all gone.
Sebastien was generally a contented sort of man, but he had been somewhat melancholy as he and his coworkers returned home. Even they had noticed it and teased him about his silence, and of course he had thrown his own jeers back, but he felt distinctly like he had lost his best friend. All of those odd feelings in his gut were left to fester, and he spent his first night on his own amidst the familiar shuffling and stink of the compound's creatures. That was at least a comfort against the young man's feeling of displacement.
For the next several days, the staff had been scheduled for long hours and laborious tasks. A lot had to be done, considering the minimal attention that had been offered during the battle. Fences and buildings had to be patched and mended, and several shipments were coming in at all hours now that Oba was back to its usual peace and bustle. There were never fewer than five men and women on the compound at any time, although they could well be functioning at opposite ends. Having constant companionship did lessen the blow of Sebastien's sudden change in setting, at least. He had less idle time to fret and less lonely time to let his mind wander. He threw himself back into his work, knowing that he could never retreat into the past. He had had the experience, though. That was what he clung to.
This night was like any other, or at least it had begun that way. The staff was built of younger folk as their superiors preferred to spend evenings with their families. Sebastien was easy to schedule. He had no family, and he had worked there long enough to offer constructive input to the others. He loved his work as well, which was less than he could say for the boys currently helping him unload bales of hay. They had expected to be thrown into the thick of it, riding janarim before the day was through, able to bend wild beasts to their whims simply because of their job title. They accepted necessary tasks with rolling eyes and groans. Really they could not have been much younger than Sebastien himself, but their maturity level left something to be desired.
The animals had begun rustling around their pens and stables, perhaps because their sleep schedules had been so overturned by the longer work hours of their caretakers. Sebastien thought nothing of it.
The thinnest of the boys stood in the cart, helping lift and pushed the bales off while Sebastien and the other carted them away. Still he was short of breath and groaning.
A quhar called out and its brethren joined it like a pack of wild raptrix howling at the moon.
"Only a few left, come on," Sebastien said, reaching out and tugging on the twine that held the bale together. High spirits meant good workers, and they would be done soon and able to go home. He himself was sweating, the night breeze cooling his back, and his gift from Naevius lay coiled at his hip. It was a good whip, reliable and well-weighted. He even thought its 'crack' was a little sharper than the one he had been using before he--
Shouting. Someone was shouting. It wasn't a scream, but it held the desperation of a man in need. Someone working in the pens might have been hurt or a fence might have fallen. Sebastien sighed and nodded to the dark-skinned young man to drop the bale, and he did gratefully and stretched his back. Sebastian wandered out from behind the fence, turning toward the sound. He opened his mouth to call back, but he could see them already, backing up slowly. For an instant he thought that they were facing some terrible beast, but what truly existed was much, much stranger.
At first it was just a swirling vortex of white-violet light glimmering on the ground. It wasn't an explosion, it hovered so gently, but it was making a strange crackling sound like ice breaking or the moment before lightning struck. A few of his peers hung nearby, watching it in awe, and others yet were retreating, but never so far. There had never been anything like this on the compound before, at least Sebastien had never seen anything like it, and everyone was entranced. He took a few steps toward the hubbub in curiosity, and then felt his blood run cold.
Magic. It had to be. It might not have exploded yet, but it might, and they would lose some fencing and perhaps a part of a building but damned if he was going to have anyone die tonight.
"Move away!" he shouted as authoritatively as he could muster, "Get out!" He was moving closer himself, crossing though a paddock and over a fence to try and tug his peers away. Some had listened, some were retreating, but even the most determined escapee kept turning over their shoulder to peek at the phenomenon. He found he was moving ever closer himself. Was this some kind of sorcery? Were they being deceived? Had the treaty with Tendaji been ignored by some vengeful group?
It burst.
The light spread, making a sound to ring the ears like something tearing through the fabric of reality itself. Sebastien winced against the light and held up an arm as if it could somehow shield the radiation of the spell from harming him. What in the world was it? Who was at fault?
They began crawling out then, a pair of long crystalline legs the breadth of a man's arm followed by an odd bulbous shape. It was just one at first, then two others followed. They were horrible, grotesque creatures out of an Oban's worst nightmare, and there they stood, mandibles twitching. Sebastien was dimly aware that the shouting had gotten louder, that someone was screaming, but he was in such shock that it barely registered. What in all of the gods' creation...?
The spiders simply stood there, black glittering eyes flicking back and forth between retreating Earthlings. For a moment it seemed as if they wouldn't do anything, but then what could be done with them? No beast such as this had ever been documented in Oba, how would they even begin to wrangle them? It was then that one of the great chitinous creatures reared up and bucked like an unruly stallion. The others seemed to pick up on its panic and they began to spread and scuttle. The beasts moved quickly, and it was this movement that sent Sebastien running.
"Go!" The nearest building was a sort of working storage with enough room to house the handful of workers amidst the supplies. Some lingered outside and others hurriedly ran for cover and ducked behind the front wall. Sebastien's chest was heaving with panicked breath as he considered their options. There was no way they could simply let these creatures run rampant. One was headed for a nearby outbuilding and the other two skittered here and there without any real pattern. A spider that large could undoubtedly make prey of any number of animals on the compound, and the boss would not be pleased if he lost trained stock. The quhar backed away and pressed into the fence posts, braying in terror. Xaraan chattered and squawked, some brave enough to try and frighten the spiders away. One arachnid lifted its front legs threateningly in response and Sebastien panicked. No, they had to act now. Right now.
He was not sure if any of his superiors lingered nearby, but he was aware they might speak up in protest against his shouting. It was fine. He'd love for someone to explain to him what the hell was going on, but lacking that he began to assign orders.
Out by the supply cart the thin boy stood, eyes as wide as saucers even at this distance. Sebastien breathed deep and shouted to him: "Go get help! We'll need more men!" For a moment he wasn't certain if the boy had heard him, but after a moment of suspended motion he nodded and turned to sprint down the road. With reinforcements sent-for, the prentice turned the corner and entered the supply closet. A few of the men were already arming up with whips and swords, presumably to fight the invaders head-on. They barely glanced at Sebastien as he entered.
What did the plan to do once they'd tried to whip and stab the spiders, hm? Of course, that was if blades could even penetrate their rigid exoskeletons. Besides, there was only a handful of them against three towering foreign beasts. They would be entirely overpowered.
"Wait, wait," he said, "What if we tried to tie them?"
One of the other men furrowed his brow and turned to the boy.
"What?"
"Tie them, you know. Lasso and... wrap or... sneak up on and trip? The one going at the building, I bet we could sneak up on it while it tries to get inside, or whatever it's doing. Couldn't we?"
He was met with dubious glances.
"Listen, I'll try. Someone come with me with a weapon, and I'll try. If it doesn't work it doesn't work, but I don't think we're going to be able to stop them with sticks until help arrives."
There was a pause as the other seemed to wordlessly consider their options. One try couldn't hurt, could it? It would be Sebastien's neck on the line anyway, not theirs. Finally a surly-looking man nodded and drew his sword. Sebastien returned the gesture and turned to retrieve some good thick rope, and quite a length of it. He coiled it around his arm and breathed deeply. If only they kept something caustic around to blind the creatures!
He could die. He could legitimately die. Okay, buck up, it wasn't like he really had anything to lose. He nodded for the others to join him and began out. "Come on. Grab a tarp, some more rope, we'll get them." He sounded sure, but honestly he was a bit frightened.
So the small group emerged from the shed and began toward the beasts, jogging at first and then more slowly and quietly, rounding the spider causing destruction to the outbuilding. It seemed intent to get inside, perhaps seeking darkness or trying to attack the flame of the lamp that burned within. Whatever the reason, it did seem distracted. Sebastien swallowed hard and toed off his boots, then began to tiptoe around the back. Spiders had many eyes, it may well see him, but he got down on all fours and crawled to the beast's back legs. His breathing was deep and controlled, but it belied the panic in his chest. What if it was venomous? What if it turned and struck at him? He had tied a loop in the end of the rope and hung it around his arm and began the horrible work. He took the loose end of the rope and ran it carefully behind each leg. He paused at the third, closed his eyes, and exhaled slowly. Okay. This was it.
With a sudden burst of energy, the young man ran backward, allowing the rope to slide up to the joints in the spider's legs. He threaded the loose end through the loop and began to pull with all of his weight. Now feeling the pressure, the beast wheeled and shrieked in an attempt to fend off its attacker!
The others rushed in to help, dropping what they held to tug at the restraints. With a thud Sebastien was sure he could feel through the ground, the spider toppled. Its free legs wiggled in the air and it helplessly teetered on its round back, flexing to try and regain rightedness but now missing a row of three points of support. The second length of rope was simpler, incapacitating the spider completely... or at least allowing it no more movement than a pathetic and almost comical roll and tumble. Unfortunately, the first spider's defeat had attracted a friend.
A second spider reeled up, threatening the attacker of its brethren with its arms in the air, and the Earthlings were forced to run, some stumbling or shouting back around the other side of the building now missing a good portion of its east wall. Sebastian instinctively took up a position ahead of the others, holding them behind with with his arms spread. His sense of self-preservation was pretty much nil as it was, and he had to act fast. It could see them, it was staring at them, threatening them with a slow approach. Alright, so they may not be big enough to kill a man, at least they didn't look it now that the compound employees downed one, but those pincers could likely break a limb, couldn't they? Sebastien noted that the rope had been dropped a ways away, but so had the linen tarp. If he could blind it, maybe the others would be able to control it in other ways.
The young man sprinted out from behind the corner of the building, grabbed the tarp, and took a wide berth around the beast while spreading the fabric between his hands. Of course the spider turned, interested in the enemy that moved the most. It reared its legs up again and he stood, face-to-face with the beast, perspiring and panting and nearly trembling with adrenaline. The beast lowered its head and seemed almost placated for a moment, then began to rush forward. Ignoring the rocks and sticks on the ground, ignoring the fear shrieking between his ears, he ran toward the creature and leaped onto its head. He gripped hard, trying to simultaneously not lose a leg and cover the beast's eyes. He cried out in fear and then tucked into a bear-hug, closing his eyes and trying to reign in his breathing. For what seemed like an eternity he simply swung in the air, tossed back and forth by the creature in its limited mobility, thrashing and crashing, and then all of a sudden it seemed to slow, and then stop entirely. He felt the beast fall and only then did he open his eyes. A few of his peers had grabbed hold of legs and were pulling hard while others looped lengths of rope about the limbs. It was a flurry of nervous energy and fumbling, but they succeeded in minutes and Sebastian rolled off and whimpered. Oh, gods, what were they meant to do?! His hand went over his eyes and rested there a moment before he got again to his feet.
The third invader was the one he was most worried about. It had been in the xaraan pen the last he had seen it and the creatures' squealing said that it must not have gone far. It could have caused an incredible amount of destruction and even cost the compound money in lost stock, but it was already whipped into a fury. Sebastien looked off toward it, hands on his hips, breathing hard.
"So what are we going to do?" someone piped up, but nobody answered, "Seb?"
The young man turned and furrowed his brow in question.
"What are we going to do?"
She had been talking to him? They were all in the same boat, the same group of nobodies trained to care and charm, not to trap. He wiped his forehead and sighed. Alright. If he had been elected leader of their little outfit, so be it. It would have been nice to have a mage on-staff to physically shock or burn the beast, but none of the faces he saw were anything but the usual folk. The only magician they sometimes met was the healer who specified in livestock. He motioned for the group to follow, and they wandered past Teeter and Tied to return to the supply building to take stock. They had used enough rope to seriously dampen their efforts on the third hell-beast and lacked any further tarps large enough to cover beady eyes the size of a fist at the front and far sides of bulbous heads. The others began rifling through various stacks and racks and shelving, all humming with the same frenetic, disbelieving energy. Giant portal-spiders were overtaking the compound. Right.
Sebastien's hands lighted on a fabric wrap that held a folded capture net. Some were huge, broad enough and strong enough for even the largest prey, but a spider's legs could undoubtedly piece through the holes and render them useless. They didn't have to time to lash a new net, though. It would have to work. He gathered it in his hands and offered it to a young woman, then pulled a torch from the wall and lit it with a match. Again he heaved a deep sigh.
"Once we find it, I'll try to draw it away. Catch it before it kills me, could you please?" There were somber nods and worried glances, and then Sebastien broke through the gathered crowd to head off toward the pens.
It wasn't hard to find the final invader. Animals were shrieking deeper within the compound and the sounds were too loud to ignore. The ragtag group of companions ran or jogged toward the noise. They found the long-legged beast standing off against a young half-tamed raptrix. The canine had its wings spread, looking enormous in defense against the foreign creature. The spider had its legs raised and kept making threatening moves toward the canine. They had to work fast or the raptrix would undoubtedly be overtaken.
"HEY!" Sebastien yelped. "Hey!" He walked to the side of the spider, not wanting to risk getting caught between two attacking beasts and cracked his whip. At first, the spider did not move, so he let his whip fly out and slash against the spider's leg. Only a change in the reflection of light told him that it was watching him. He rushed backward and cracked his whip again, watching the spider's movements as it turned abruptly and fled after him. He teased it, waving the flaming torch and yelling to keep its attention. He couldn't see the others, had no idea where they were; all of his attention was on the creature before him, on its body language and mannerisms, watching for any sign of attack. It was a skill built over his years at the compound but never used on anything quite like this. His chest heaved as he dodged the strike of a clawed foot. It rose up again and Sebastien thought that he may come out of this at least bleeding, or poisoned and dying on the cold ground. Fear and doubt crept into his chest, and then the leg bent back and crumpled against the spider's body. The net!
He laughed and thrust his arm in the air when the beast seemed to implode, pulled back by several several strong Obans. It struggled as it was tugged on the count of three and Sebastian saw a leg sneak through one of the holes. Without any real logical thought, he ran at the creature and stomped on its head. Its brain must be somewhere around its eyes, right? The spider struggled, squealed, and tried desperately to get his bare, bleeding foot lodged between its mandibles. He lifted his leg and stomped it again, and again. The enormous creature went still, flattened out against the grass, and finally he could breathe. Sebastian gave a shout of triumph and the others cheered. Take that, magical portal-dwelling spiders! That was what happened when you messed with Obans!
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Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2015 5:09 pm
It was going to take days to fix all of the damage the spiders had done. One outbuilding was partially destroyed, and the third had crashed through several fences and released dozens of animals to the grounds. The livestock would have to be tracked down and sorted out, the fences patched and the buildings repaired. Sebastien still found the others looking to him and had delegated tasks based upon how panicked the particular person still was. He himself stood by the spiders with the stout man, making sure that none wriggled free to ran off. The damage they had done in a span of minutes here meant they could cause total destruction if they were released.
It wasn't long before he heard shouting by the road. Sebastien went out to check on the hubbub, hoping it was not the start of the Giant Spider Apocalypse, and smiled and shook his head when he got there. It was the lanky newbie he had sent out earlier, looking quite upset and now flanked by a large group of men in partial armor and a large cart. Sebastien approached and offered a polite bow.
"They didn't believe me!" the newbie yelped, his voice cracking, "I told them and they didn't believe me! I'm sorry!"
Sebastien raised his brows and tilted his head at the men. Boy, they would have been helpful a while ago!
"Well. The spiders are incapacitated at the moment, but we could certainly use some help disposing of them."
A man at the head of the group rolled his eyes. "Right. Well, we can oblige."
"Oh, good." What must they think? Certainly creatures like this did not exist within the realm of Oban memory, or else they were a well-guarded secret. "We're still not sure where they came from or what they are, but I'm sure you can... burn them. Or something."
The man just sighed, and Sebastien laughed.
"Come with me," he said politely and began back onto the grounds. He led the group turned a corner and behind the outbuilding where the spiders had been dragged with the help some some loyal quhar. One lay legs-up, long since given up at wobbling feebly. One was on its side, hogtied with its many legs pointing toward the group. The third was sprawled flat on its belly, still unconscious.
Silence. Stunned stares. Sebastien smirked.
"Come on. We'll help you load them into your cart."
[ total word count: ~3782 ]
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Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2015 5:36 pm
Sebastien's class quest is finished! <3
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Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2015 11:40 am
Class Quest Result
Pass!
Sebastien has passed and received a rank of Beast Charmer!
Congratulations Sebastien!
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